UKZN Graduate Thrives With Catering Company Which Started With R300 Muffin Business

UKZN Graduate Thrives With Catering Company Which Started With R300 Muffin Business

  • A young woman from KZN who currently lives in Johannesburg is working hard to ensure her business will be a success
  • The 26-year-old UKZN graduate continues to grind with her day job while running a catering business
  • Thandazani Nosipho Zulu tells Briefly News that the seeds of her enterprise were sown during her first year of studies, where she used R300 to start a small muffin business

A hard-working lady in Empangeni, KZN, who now lives in Johannesburg, Gauteng, is hustling hard with her enterprise.

A lady who has business degrees from UKZN runs a catering company.
Thandazani Nosipho Zulu has a catering business. Image: Thandazani Nosipho Zulu/Supplied.
Source: UGC

Thandazani Nosipho Zulu holds an Honours degree in Business Administration and started her company during her first year of undergraduate studies at UKZN.

The young lady tells Briefly News about her catering company, journey, and future ambitions. Her enterprise, Food By The Gift, had humble beginnings.

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UKZN graduate hustles hard

Thandazani Nosipho Zulu notes that due to the financial difficulties she faced as a student, starting a business seemed like a necessity:

“It was due to a financial strain I faced in varsity [that I started]. My studies also inspired me and made it seem possible to start and manage a business. Also, being raised by hardworking women proved to me that I could be successful.”

The 26-year-old still works as a senior talent acquisition specialist, focusing on the IT and Finance industry while running her company:

“Funny enough, in 2016, when I was doing my first year, my mom sent me R300 and I sat down with myself and thought how I could multiply the money. That’s when I decided to sell muffins around campus. That helped me with taking care of my monthly expenses as a student.”

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“I later saw the need to provide a service for when there were events on campus and out of campus. I later registered the company and I was able to cater for more events and travelled to most parts of KZN while juggling my studies.”

Graduate with catering business dreams big

The sis wants to ensure that her enterprise stands the test of time and has ambitions of starting a small eatery in the future:

“I aim to create sustainable jobs. I do have assistants when catering for events. I moved to Johannesburg at the beginning of last year. I aim to one day have a café where we can operate daily and people can easily get our meals and experience.
“We also want to cater for more big events. That will help us expand our clientele, which will grow the business and help us get operating equipment and a space to work from."

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In a related story by Briefly News, a young woman in Johannesburg who is a healthcare worker recently started a floral and events company. The 28-year-old holds two qualifications, one in business and the other in occupational therapy.

In a follow-up chat with Briefly News, Sinqobile Mdlalose shares that she would love to empower women through her business as the company grows.

Source: Briefly News

Authors:
Kauthar Gool avatar

Kauthar Gool (Women Empowerment Editor) Kauthar Gool has been the Women Empowerment Editor at Briefly News since 2022. She holds a Master of Public Relations and Communication Management from the Cape Peninsula University of Technology (CPUT) (2022) and a Bachelor of Technology in Journalism from CPUT (2019). She has worked at the Fundza Literacy Trust, ITWeb, YOU Magazine, and Cape Argus. She is currently furthering her education in journalism at Stellenbosch University. Reach her at: kauthar.gool@briefly.co.za